Carlos the Jackal, the flamboyant Venezuelan who symbolized Cold War terrorism, was sentenced to life in prison — again — in a Paris trial that ended late Thursday with him rallying for revolution and weeping for Moammar Gadhafi.

Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, hasn't seen freedom since French agents spirited him out of Sudan in a sack in 1994. He's already serving a life sentence in a French prison for a triple murder in 1975, the worst punishment meted out in a country that does not have the death penalty.

France on Thursday called on Syria to “respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, one day after a Syrian patrol infiltrated the Lebanese town of Arsal.

“If confirmed, this incident would once again highlight the threat the Syrian regime’s oppressive policy poses to the stability of the region,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.

Turkey will recall its ambassador and freeze ties with Paris if French lawmakers approve a bill banning the denial of the "Armenian genocide" next week, he told Agence France Presse on Thursday.

"There will be irreparable consequences in all bilateral relations," Ambassador Engin Solakoglu said, adding that he expected to be called back to Ankara for an indefinite period from December 22.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe issued a new call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to quit on Thursday, accusing his regime of committing crimes against humanity on a daily basis.

"More than 5,000 killed, three million Syrians are affected by bloody repression, unspeakable abuse and daily crimes against humanity," Juppe told university students during a visit to Libya's capital.

Popular former French president Jacques Chirac was convicted of graft on Thursday but escaped jail when he was handed a two-year suspended sentence for running ghost workers at Paris city hall.

The 79-year-old statesman, who was excused from court on medical grounds, was found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust and embezzlement between 1990 and 1995 when he was mayor of the French capital.

A fire in a French retirement home killed six women Wednesday, after a 75-year-old man tried to open a packet of sweets with his cigarette lighter, officials said.

An investigation has been launched into the blaze, which broke out at around 2:20 am in "Les Anemones", a retirement home for 180 people in the southern port city of Marseille, state prosecutor Christophe Barret told reporters.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Wednesday that Lebanon abides by international law and is committed to its cooperation with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in order to bolster security and stability.

He said after holding talks with UNIFIL Commander Major General Alberto Asarta: “The recent attack against the French unit in UNIFIL is aimed at harming Lebanese-French ties.”

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has no information about any decision by the countries that have contingents serving with the peacekeeping mission to downsize their troops, a UNIFIL spokesman, Andrea Tenenti, said.

“There is no information about any changes,” Tenenti told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Wednesday.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton stressed on Tuesday the need to keep Lebanon away from regional tensions, asserting that France will maintain its support for Lebanon even if it reduces the number of its troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

He said after holding talks with Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour that UNIFIL’s peacekeeping unit is conducting a strategic revision of the participation in the international force.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Tuesday that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s mission in the South has been curtailed due to Hizbullah’s presence in the area.

He said during a press conference on the latest developments: “Hizbullah is directly or indirectly responsible for all the security incidents in southern Lebanon.”